This undated photo provided by the Schaffhauser Polizei shows the suspect in a chainsaw attack in Schaffhausen, Switzerland on Monday. The man suspected of wounding five people with a chainsaw was still on the loose Tuesday, July, 25, 2017 and a massive manhunt was taking place on the Swiss-German border. (Schaffhauser Polizei via AP)

This undated images released by the KAPO Schaffhausen shows the alleged attacker who injured several people in Schaffhausen Switzerland Monday, July 24, 2017. An unkempt man armed with a chainsaw wounded five people Monday at an office building in the northern Swiss city of Schaffhausen and then fled, police said. A manhunt was on for him. (KAPO Schaffhausen via AP)

The police investigate in the old town of Schaffhausen in Switzerland, where they search for an unknown man who attacked people, Monday, July 24, 2017. Swiss police say several people have been hospitalized, two of them with serious injuries, following the apparent attack in the northern city of Schaffhausen. (Ennio Leanza/Keystone via AP)

The police investigate in the old town of Schaffhausen in Switzerland, where they search for an unknown man who attacked people, Monday, July 24, 2017. Swiss police say several people have been hospitalized, two of them with serious injuries, following the apparent attack in the northern city of Schaffhausen. (Ennio Leanza/Keystone via AP)

The police shut down the old town of Schaffhausen in Switzerland, while they search for an unknown man who attacked people, on Monday, July 24, 2017. Swiss police say several people have been hospitalized, two of them with serious injuries, following the apparent attack in the northern city of Schaffhausen. (Ennio Leanza/Keystone via AP)

Chainsaw attack suspect arrested in Switzerland

Jul. 25, 2017

BERLIN (AP) — The suspect in a chainsaw attack on a health insurer's office in Switzerland that left five people wounded was caught on Tuesday after more than a day on the run, police said.

Franz Wrousis was arrested in Thalwil, some 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the scene of Monday morning's attack in Schaffhausen, police said. The lakeside town is in Zurich canton (state), Schaffhausen's southern neighbor.

Police issued a brief statement announcing the arrest but said they would give no further details before a news conference scheduled in Schaffhausen on Wednesday.

Authorities had issued an international arrest warrant for Wrousis, whom they described as aggressive and psychologically unstable. They said the 50-year-old has two previous convictions for weapons offenses and no fixed residence.

Wrousis is accused of attacking two employees of a health insurance company at their office in Schaffhausen's old town. One of them was seriously hurt, though the injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Two customers were treated for shock after they witnessed the attack, and another person was slightly injured during the subsequent police operation. All but one of the five have left the hospital.

In recent weeks, Wrousis was seen several times in forests just south of Schaffhausen. Police found a minivan he was believed to have been driving shortly after the attack, and searched the region near the German border with helicopters and sniffer dogs.

On Tuesday, they urged people to exercise caution when in the area's forests as long as the suspect remained at large. As the manhunt continued, the insurance company said it was keeping its offices in Schaffhausen and five other nearby towns closed for now "in view of yesterday's attack."

Police had described Wrousis as potentially dangerous and warned he might be armed.

They also published several photos of the suspect, one of them taken shortly before the attack. It showed a tall, balding man with short brown hair walking along a street in a green jacket carrying a large black bag.